The Energy Cost of Hosting, and What Green Claims Mean
Data centers run on real electricity, and "100% green hosting" badges can mean very different things. Here's how to read the claims and which efficiency levers you actually control.
The ServerBorn blog
Notes from the forge.
Performance engineering, security hardening, and WordPress operations. Written by the people who run the metal.
admin-ajax.php Overload: Diagnosing WordPress’s Busiest Endpoint
When admin-ajax.php shows up at the top of your slow query log, here's how to find the plugin responsible, move its work somewhere lighter, and cache around what's left.
Server Location Still Matters: Latency by the Numbers
Edge caching has changed a lot about how fast a WordPress site feels, but physics hasn't changed. Here's how to think about origin location, round-trip time, and where a CDN actually picks up the slack.
.htaccess for WordPress: The Rules Worth Knowing
A plain-language tour of what .htaccess actually controls on a WordPress site, the handful of rules worth keeping, and the cases where your server never reads the file at all.
Performance Plugins Compared: Cache, Optimize, or Snake Oil
Not every 'speed plugin' does the same job, and running two that overlap can slow you down more than running none. Here's what each category actually does, and how to build a stack that doesn't fight itself.
Anycast DNS: Why Your Nameserver Choice Affects Every Visit
DNS resolution happens before a single byte of your site loads, so how your nameservers are routed and cached has an outsized effect on real-world speed. Here is what anycast actually does, how to think about TTLs, and what you're paying for with premium DNS.
Do You Need an Image CDN? Resizing, WebP, and On-the-Fly Optimization
Image CDNs promise automatic resizing, format conversion, and edge delivery, but a good caching stack already handles a lot of this. Here is how to tell what you actually need and how to test it on your own pages.
TOTP, Passkeys, SMS: Two-Factor Methods Ranked
Not all second factors are created equal. Here is how SMS, authenticator apps, and passkeys actually hold up against phishing and SIM swaps, and how to get a reluctant team to turn any of them on.
How to Vet a WordPress Theme Before You Commit
A theme is a long-term relationship, not a one-click decision. Here is how to check its update history, support quality, lock-in risk, and real-world performance before you build a site on top of it.